World Bank covers up human rights abuses in Nepal

In a recent blog titled “World Bank Covers Up Human Rights Abuses in Nepal: Silencing Community Voices“, the Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP) together with Coalition member Accountability Counsel calls out the World Bank for ignoring community voices and covering up human rights abuses to push forward their “development” projects in Nepal. The authors stress the Bank’s responsibility to help facilitate a dialogue with a view to resolving the conflict in Sindhuli, Nepal where communities have suffered threats and attacks surrounding a World Bank-financed transmission line. Read more here.

Around the world, as megaprojects and investments are imposed on communities without their consent or consultation, those working to protect their lands and resources, fight corruption, and defend human rights are under increasing attack.
For this reason, the Coalition for Human Rights i

As the African Development Bank (AfDB) meets in Busan, South Korea from May 21-25 to discuss Industrialising Africa, Civil society Organisations (CSOs) from across the continent red flagged the Bank’s steer towards mega investments without a clear action plan for human centred inclusive development.

From February 28, 2018 to March 4, 2018 in Costa Rica, countries and civil society groups are negotiating the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, also known as LAC P10. If adopt

12-13 NOVEMBER 2017
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
This is a communiqué reflecting the outcomes of the Development and Investment in Africa Workshop held on 12-13 November 2017 in Pretoria, South Africa, and organized by the Coalition for Human Rights in Development together with African Coalition fo

[This article was originally published online in July in Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales’ 2017 Environmental Report. It is being reposted here in honor of Human Rights Day]
Across Latin America and the world, governments and investors are pushing for a dramatic increase i

A UN report released last week (Oct. 25) highlights the growing attacks on human rights defenders in the context of business and investment activities, including development finance. “Through their financing and technical support, a complex range of public and private institutions continu

On September 26, 2017, the Coalition for Human Rights in Development co-hosted a ‘Demystifying Development Banks’ webinar with a special focus on Asia, where many countries have been shown to be among the most dangerous for human rights and environmental defenders who confront infrastru

According to Caio Borges, Prof. Karin Costa Vazquez and Supriya Roychoudhury, if question marks on the future of BRICS are repeatedly raised, the New Development Bank (NDB) is probably the most concrete avenue through which the grouping can deepen co-operation. The NDB’s stated commitment to

Two of the primary backers of the Agua Zarca hydropower dam project in Honduras have officially announced their exit from the project following years of campaigning by local indigenous groups and criticism from international civil society organizations.
In a press release issued on July 6, the D

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Partnering with Communities to Defend Human Rights
In 2016 the Coalition engaged in partnerships with communities around the world to connect community struggles with strategic resources and campaign support and to bring community expe

This week 32 organizations called on the World Bank Board of Directors to urge them to ensure that the Bank takes all measures necessary to remedy harm caused to four Maasai villages displaced to make way for the Olkaria IV geothermal project in Kenya. The Kenya Electricity Expansion Project (KEEP)

Global groups call for action to protect human rights in development
Ahead of Human Rights Day, December 10th, the Coalition for Human Rights in Development joins with over 50 civil society groups around the world to call on financial institutions, governments and businesses to stand up for human

This month, 18 human rights and environmental organizations called on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the United States’ development finance institution, to strengthen its human rights due diligence. OPIC is presently revising its social and environmental polic

The Coalition for Human Rights in Development this week called on the Dutch Development Bank FMO to strengthen its commitment to human rights and to enact strong due diligence requirements to ensure that human rights are respected within FMO-financed activities.
FMO is presently revising its Su

In an opinion piece in Foreign Policy magazine, Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, explains how the goal of sustainable development is under threat from growing restrictions on public participation in development and closing ci

Environmental activists and civil society groups in Macedonia working to defend their rights in the face of harmful development projects financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other development banks, are increasingly threatened and harassed. In an art

Coalition member Human Rights Watch reports that three human rights defenders have lodged a formal complaint against the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) regarding forced labor in the Uzbek cotton industry. The complaint demands an investigation of forced labor

The New York Times editorial board today called on the World Bank to “champion human rights” through its new safeguards policy framework presently under consideration by the Bank’s board of directors. The Times cited that despite the fact that the institution’s own re

On June 16th, the Palestinian human rights organization, Al-Haq, urged the World Bank to explicitly address the need for human rights safeguards for investments in conflict-affected areas during the Bank’s ongoing safeguard policy reform process. The Bank has announced plans to increase in

Coalition member ESCR-Net is calling on leaders of OAS member states to address the financial crisis currently hindering the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ ability to operate as a key regional human rights mechanism. The crisis has already caused the IACHR to suspend its 159th and

Honduran social movements and indigenous peoples organizations this week called on the World Bank to in light of persistent attacks on human rights defenders, suspend financing in Honduras “until there are minimally just and realistic conditions for indigenous and small f

African civil society groups, including Coalition member Lumière Synergie pour le Développement, called on the African Development Bank this week to increase its accountability and engagement with civil society and to embrace pro-poor investment strategies that support public sector ser

May 20, 2016 – The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other top UN indigenous peoples experts sent a letter Friday to World Bank President Jim Kim and the Bank’s executive directors, challenging a proposal that would weaken protections for ind

Coalition member Forest Peoples Programme has released a report on the impacts of deforestation and forest degradation on indigenous and local communities in the DRC, highlighting the human rights violations and socio-environmental impacts often caused by these activities. The report also c

Peter Bosshard, interim ED of Coalition member International Rivers, explains how indigenous communities are particularly at risk of landgrabbing and face increasing repression, even death when standing up for their rights.
Read the article here.

NDB project funding has been the subject of intrigue and concern among civil society organizations (CSOs) since the bank’s formal launch in Fortaleza, Brazil, in 2014. Yet news of these first ‘green’ loans has done little to ease their fears.
The problem, CSOs say, is that since the NDB still

As government ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa gather in Washington, DC for the third board of governors meeting of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) April 13 and 14, civil society groups in BRICS countries appealed to their governments and NDB management to operate

While the World Bank’s motto is to “End Poverty” and promote sustainable development, too often Bank investments disregard the human rights and priorities of poor communities, leaving them worse off. As the World Bank prepares to host finance ministers from across the globe

In a victory for indigenous and human rights activists, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) announced Friday the suspension of its financing of the Agua Zarca Dam. The Honduras dam project has been a focal point for international attention following the kil

In the face of rapidly shrinking civil society space and growing attacks on human rights and environmental defenders, sign this statement (English, French, Spanish, Arabic) on the Responsibility of International Financial Institutions to Ensure Meaningful and Effective Participation an

With the BRICS New Development Bank set to open its regional office in Johannesburg and approve its first set of projects for financing in the next weeks, South African civil society groups raise concerns about lack of transparency or consultation with potentially affected communities. The NDB h

The Coalition for Human Rights in Development submitted recommendations today urging the World Bank to amend its proposed Environmental and Social Framework to meaningfully address human rights. The submission addresses arguments that have been put forward against embracing human rights an

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst, called upon the Government of Honduras today to “ensure the safety and protection of Gustavo Castro Soto”, a Mexican human rights defender, and to facilitate his return to Mexico as soon as possible.

Follow this action alert to tell FMO, Finnfund, CABEI, Voith and Siemens to immediately pull out of the Agua Zarca Dam and to not get involved in any other projects on the land of the indigenous Lenca people. intlrv.rs/StopAguaZarca.

The Coalition for Human Rights in Development expresses our deep sadness and outrage at the assassination this week of indigenous leader and environmental activist Berta Cáceres. Berta was the coordinator and co-founder of the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras, COPINH. She fought t

The World Bank consultation on proposed new social and environmental new safeguards will end one month from today. The Bretton Woods Observer reports how civil society organizations around the world have been calling on the Bank to adopt a strong framework for the protection of human rig

Yesterday, the U.S. Congress passed the Electrify Africa Act, promoting investment in access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. The Electrify Africa Act in part formalizes Power Africa – a U.S.- led initiative to work with African governments, the World Bank, African Development B

Amnesty International argues that the recently launched Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), led by China, should draw on the experience of other development banks and implement strong human rights standards. The group raises concerns that the Bank’s development of an Env

January 28, 2016 – African civil society organizations called on African governments and public and private financiers today to find socially and environmentally sustainable solutions to Africa’s energy needs. The statement, signed by groups from 10 countries, was issued to coi

December 17, 2015 – Nigerian civil society organizations met in Abuja, FCT, Nigeria as the World Bank consults with the Nigerian government regarding a large-scale revision of the Bank’s social and environmental safeguard policies. The groups called on the Bank to adopt strong req

The World Bank doesn’t require that its projects respect human rights, and has thus far refused to adopt such a requirement.
Máxima Acuña de Chaupe and Elmer Campos travelled far from their families in rural Peru to attend the Annual Meeting of the World Bank, taking place in the capital city of L

In a report to the UN General Assembly, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, characterizes the World Bank as a “human rights-free zone” and criticizes the institution’s current approach to human rights as “incohe

In 1999 residents of Hade, Kosovo were forced from their homes by Serbian commandos.They were able to return some time later and have been working tirelessly since then to rebuild their village and return to normal life. Now, they are being threatened to leave again, but this time the threat is comin

UN Special Rapporteur finds that human rights are being entirely left out of the debate around extreme poverty and extreme inequality, even though the human rights framework is imperative in resolving these issues. The report criticizes the World Bank, IMF and UN for failing to follow up on any rec

A report by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of assembly and association discusses the importance of freedom of speech within natural resource extraction projects. Concludes the following: rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and association are essential to fair work on extraction of na

Dr. Jim Yong Kim,
President, World Bank
January 30, 2015
Dear Mr. President,
We are the Requesters, Anuak refugees and asylum seekers based in Kenya (Dadaab, Kakuma and Nairobi) and South Sudan (Gorom), who submitted a complaint to the World Bank Inspection Panel in September 2012. We have written

28 UN Experts sent a letter to World Bank President Jim Kim, to express their concerns regarding the Bank’s proposed new social and environmental safeguards. The letter criticizes the Bank for avoiding meaningful incorporation of human rights protections. Read the letter here.

From Scientific America, published on Monday, 1 December 2014.
For all the flack the U.N. climate talks have taken over the past 20 years, one major achievement will be on display as the next round of negotiations open in Peru today.
Climate change has been inextricably linked to social justice.
The

In a recent speech at the World Bank, entitled “Rethinking the World Bank’s Approach to Human Rights,” Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, described how the World Bank “stands almost alone…in insisting that human rights are mer

From October 10–12, 2014 the World Bank and International Monetary Fund held their joint Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C. Scores of activists, community leaders and civil society organisations from across the world participated in meetings, panels and actions to affirm the importance of

From the Guardian, published on Monday 29 September 2014 09.36 EDT.
World Bank accuses itself of failing to protect Kenya forest dwellers
Leaked document says World Bank violated its own safeguards in dealings with Sengwer people evicted from their lands
A leaked copy of a World Bank investigatio

about us: The Coalition for Human Rights in Development is a global coalition of social movements, civil society organizations, and grassroots groups working together to ensure that development is community-led and that it respects, protects, and fulfills human rights. We do so by making sure that communities have the information, power and resources to determine their own development paths and priorities and to hold development finance institutions, governments, and other actors accountable for their impacts on people, peoples and the planet.